The Wolves of Baskerville
by notDeaDD
Summary: John Watson is an army doctor, turned bored civilian. One day he gets a mysterious phone call from a man who offers him a large sum of money to take care of a wounded omega. As omegas are very rare and John has a certain sense of adventure, he accepts the offer. This brings him to an old mansion outside the town of Baskerville, where he might get more than he bargained for.
1. Doctor Wolf

It was a silent day in the clinic. John Watson stared at his computer screen, wishing for a patient to show up. Or maybe just for something to do. He felt his hand twitching slightly and tried to ignore it. For three months he had worked at this clinic now. Three months filled with the flu, common colds, hypochondriacs and some very overprotective mothers and fathers.

He sighed heavily. Getting used to the life of a civilian doctor was not as easy as he thought it would be. He did not like to admit it to himself, but he missed the action. He had always thrived while working under extreme pressure. This clinic, he felt, might be slowly killing him on the inside.

The phone rang as he was taking a sip from his already cold coffee. The caller ID was anonymous. He frowned and put down his coffee.

'Hello, this is doctor Watson speaking,' he said as he picked up the horn.

'Ah, hello, doctor Watson. I was hoping I might speak to you directly. How lucky I am,' the voice on the other side did not really sound like he felt lucky. John ignored the man's tone.

'What can I help you with today?' he tried to smile as he said it, he had read somewhere that people could feel you smiling, even through a phone.

'I might actually have something to help you with, good doctor,' said the voice, there was a rustling of papers, 'It seems that you have quite a hard time with paying the rent of your apartment. Tsk, tsk, doctor, isn't that a shame.'

John felt his cheeks become red. He got angry. How did this man know his financial state?!

Just as he wanted to say something very impolite to the man on the other side of his phone, the man spoke again.

'You are wondering how I know this, surely. That is not important. For now, just try to accept that I know almost everything there is to know about you, John Watson. And I don't think I'm lying when I say, I have an offer you cannot refuse.'

John stayed silent for a bit, trying to think of friends who might want to prank him. He came up with nothing. Most of the friends he still had contact with, didn't even know he now lived in London.

'And what is this offer 'that I cannot refuse'?' said John grumpily.

The man on the other side of the phone seemed to be very content with himself.

'I do not know if you are familiar with the village of Baskerville.'

'I'm not,' grumbled John.

'Then I suggest you familiarize yourself with it, as you will be staying there for quite a while. Although I am not entirely sure it is your thing, it is, as they say, a picturesque little town. Devoid of any real action. I believe to most exciting thing to happen there in these last ten years was when some sheepdog getting loose and being lost for a couple of days.'

'What do you mean, I will be staying there? I didn't even give my answer yet. And you didn't even make a proper offer yet!'

'I do apologize, doctor,' again, the man did not sound like he meant it, 'Then I will make my offer now. On the outskirts of Baskerville is a small mansion. It's old, but very comfortable, I assure you. In that mansion has been placed a wounded omega, who needs the care of a proper doctor.'

Something stirred within John when he heard the word 'omega'. Omegas were rare these days and highly praised. The alpha wolf in him, rejoiced at the chance to meet one in real life.

'You are the doctor I had in mind. You have the right skill set,' the man paused shortly after these words as to emphasize them, 'And you have proved yourself cool even under extreme pressure. Ofcourse, you will be rewarded for your work. When you are done, and that might take a while, you will never need to worry about paying your rent again.'

It took John a couple of minutes to think on his answer. Ofcourse he was tempted. There would be an omega, an omega! And ofcourse, there would be money. Money he could really, really use.

Besides, he had a bit of an adventurer in him. Eventually, he decided to go.

The man seemed even more pleased with himself when John gave his answer.

'Ofcourse, doctor, I do not have to tell you that any omega is a precious and delicate being. This omega in particular is important to me. If any additional harm is done to him, I will personally make sure you can forget about a career or even a fulfilling life.'

With those words, the man on the other side, hung up the phone.

John was left angry, confused and very curious about this wounded omega he would be taking care of. The man had said 'him', so a male omega. That was a rare occurrence indeed. John wondered if maybe the man on the phone was the bond mate of the omega. Yet, if that were the case, wouldn't he himself be tending to the wounds of his omega?

Two days after the phone call, John arrived in Baskerville. Upon arrival, he immediately discovered that the town counted about three streets, one pub and a tiny church. It also counted at least seven bed & breakfasts and a handful of tourists, who all came to photograph the moors in autumn.

John stared out of the window of his cab with a sad grumble. This town was indeed not his thing. The pub looked promising though. He might go there once he got settled in the mansion.

The cab took him a couple of miles out of town, unto a dirt road straight through the moors. The afternoon was ending and a light fog came in from the east.

John was unable to see the mansion, until he was right in front of it. He frowned when he saw it. It really was an old building, though it seemed as if someone was taking good care of it. The mansion had steps and a porch, with four giant stone columns that came all the way to the roof. It seemed to have a mixture of classic and gothic influences, as far as John could see.

He got his things out of the cab and discovered that his ride had already been paid. Whoever was behind all this, seemed to have a lot of money and power.

He became more and more nervous as he walked up to the huge door of the mansion. It took a while before he was brave enough to ring the bell. He rang it thrice.

A voice came from inside. It was loud and almost definitely female. His frown deepened, wasn't the omega supposed to be male?

The door was opened by a middle aged and clearly beta woman, who had a very warm smile on her face. She was dressed completely in purple. When she saw John, her smile became even wider.

'Ah! You must be the doctor they sent for! Come in, come in! It's freezing outside, quickly now, step inside.'

John did as he was told and the woman closed the door behind him. In the same movement she took his coat and two of his bags. 'My name is Mrs. Hudson. I'm the landlady, not the housekeeper mind you. Though most people seem to assume I am.'

'John Watson,' introduced John himself with a slight smile.

'Ofcourse I was expecting to see you. He called a couple of days ago, so I'd have time to arrange some extra rooms. Said money wouldn't be a problem! Mind you, he rented out this whole place! Said he didn't want anyone else in here but you and that poor, poor omega.'

Mrs. Hudson kept talking until they reached John's room. She showed him where the bathroom was and where he could keep his stuff. After that she gave a tour of the mansion and showed him where the kitchen was and where he would be doing his laundry ('I am not a housekeeper, mind you!').

Now and then, John would smell a slight omega scent, always coming from rooms with closed doors.

Eventually he had enough of the endless talking of the landlady. He wanted to see his patient, so he could start making treatment plans, maybe get to know him.

'The- eh, the omega, Mrs. Hudson, where is he?' he asked the woman.

Her face fell a bit. 'Oh that poor dear. He usually hides in his rooms all day. Doesn't even come out to eat. I have to cook his food and put it in front of his door. I told Mr. Holmes: I am not a housekeeper, nor a cook. But ofcourse I could not refuse to help a poor thing like that.'

'Where are his rooms?' asked the doctor.

'Up the stairs, the whole left corridor. He probably won't open the door for you though, he doesn't even open the door for me, poor dear. I really hope you can help him, doctor Watson.'

John nodded his head. He hoped so too. If not for the omega, then for himself. This mister Holmes, the man who had recruited him, did not seem like a person who joked around.

John slowly walked up the stairs. With every step, the smell of omega became stronger. His inner wolf howled and scratched at him. It wanted very much to get to know the omega. John suppressed the wolf however. He had no idea what kind of state his patient would be in. Going full alpha, or full wolf, would not be the best starting strategy. It could always be done at a later stage of the treatment.

Yet he could not stop himself of wanting to smell more of the omega scent. It was subtle, slightly musky and had a very, very powerful effect on him. Only once before had he smelled an omega, a female, and her scent had been less strong and more sweet.

John swallowed when he came to the door to the left corridor. It was closed, but the omega smell seeped from under it, through little cracks in the wood, through the keyhole. He could smell that the omega was very afraid and sick. It made his inner alpha howl even more. He wanted to take care of the omega, nurse it back to health, protect it from all danger.

He swallowed. Then he knocked on the door.

There was no answer, so he knocked again.

Still no answer.

The doctor knocked a bit louder this time. He thought he could hear a soft whine coming from the inside of the corridor. There was some scuffling and then all was silent again.

'Hello?' he asked softly, 'Are you in there?'.

Again, a soft whine. 'I mean you no harm. I'm a doctor. My name is John Watson, I am here to help.'.

The answer was more scuffling. The smell of fear became stronger. John felt a twinge of pain of not being able to comfort the scared omega.

'Are you hungry?' he tried, 'I can bring you food.'

Still no answer but a thicker smell of fear. John sighed. How was he able to help his patient, when he couldn't even reach him?! He came very close to tearing down the door, when Mrs. Hudson came upstairs with a tray of food. She smiled at him.

'These are his favourites, I think,' she said with a slight frown, 'At least, he seems to eat all of it.'

She handed the tray to John and walked down the stairs again.

John put the trey in front of the door, hoping that the omega would be tempted by the smell of food. He propped himself up against the wall facing the door, so his own smell would not pollute that of the food too much. Maybe the omega was afraid because he smelled like alpha. It might have been alphas that hurt the omega. It usually were. John cursed under his breath. He waited.

After what seemed like ages, there was a sound of bare feet on a floor. The doorknob turned very slowly. John felt his curiosity return. He pressed himself against the wall in a brave effort not to run for the door.

At first, the door only opened a tiny bit. He could see part of a pale face, some dark curls and two skinny, long fingers. Although the omega saw him, it opened the door further so it could get the food. John frowned deeply. The omega was skin and bones and almost completely naked. Two piercing blue eyes looked at John worried, but after a while decided to focus on the food instead.

The omega clumsily took the food tray with him through the half opened door.

John let the wall go and slowly got a bit closer to the door. The omega immediately froze in fear. John put his hands up as a sign that he meant no harm. The man behind the door, did not seem to understand that very well. Something that was between an whine and a growl escaped his skinny throat.

'No, no,' John said in what he hoped was a reassuring voice, 'I mean you no harm. You are safe. Safe.' He really hoped that, if he kept repeating the word, the omega would understand it. His alpha howled and whined and wanted to come out, so he could smell the omega from up close and built it a nest and keep it safe so it wouldn't be afraid anymore.

Maybe the omega sensed that, or there was something in John's demeanour that made him less afraid. Whatever it was, John was thankful for it.

The omega unfroze slowly and kept backing away from the door, while pushing the tray over the floor of the room.

John was even slower to enter the room. He tried to make himself as small as possible. While walking he made soothing sounds and tried to lull the omega, tried to make it trust him more.

It wasn't an easy job. Every now and then, he would make a floorboard creek and the omega would once again look at him with a fear of death in his pale eyes.

The room the omega had claimed, was completely dark. All the curtains had been drawn. John could hear the wind howling outside. The room was also very cold. It seemed like the omega hadn't turned on the heating, or had forgotten how it worked.

When the omega eventually trusted him enough for him to move around a little more, the first thing he did, was turn the heating on. The other man was so skinny, that John knew he would be very cold.

Once his eyes had gotten used to the dark, he was able to examine his patient from a distance. He wasn't happy with what he saw.

The omega had several wounds and bruises. He was too skinny and very, very dirty. Now that John was close to him, he could smell the sour scent of old sweat and layers of dirt. This man needed a bath, a very long and good one, probably in antibacterial soap. Maybe something against lice and fleas as well, the doctor thought, as he looked at the matted curls of the omega.


	2. Hungry Like The Wolf

The room slowly became darker as night fell.

John Watson could hear his stomach grumble with hunger, but ignored it. He sat propped up against a heater. His eyes followed every movement of the omega on the other side of the room.

He wasn't quite sure how long he had sat there. All he knew was that the omega was slowly, very slowly starting to trust him more.

The skinny man still looked at him with big, worried eyes, but did not freeze in fear every time he moved around. John had observed him for hours now. Though it was almost completely dark in the room, he could see that the omega had several wounds and bruises. He was terribly malnourished. John was however quite certain that Mrs. Hudson's food was helping the omega get healthier. The landlady seemed like the nursing type of person.

His left leg was starting to cramp and he winced. 'Fuck,' he muttered under his breath.

The omega, hearing the sound, looked up with a head movement so fast, John was worried he might hurt his neck.

'No, nothing wrong, just my leg. Sorry to spook you,' John said in a soft voice.

The omega gave him a suspicious look. The pale eyes almost seemed to study John's entire body. It made him feel a bit uncomfortable. He almost felt like the omega could look straight into his mind.

There was a knock on the door, followed by the voice of Mrs. Hudson.

The omega gave a small, panicked sound and retreated into one of the darker corners. John got up slowly and limped to the door. He was starting to wish he had brought his cane with him.

When he opened the door, Mrs. Hudson greeted him with a warm smile and a big tray of steaming hot food. The smell of it was mouth watering.

She handed the tray to John. 'Just to be clear, I am not a housekeeper,' she said to him, 'But I thought you and him could use a good meal. I thought: the doctor's been in there all afternoon, hasn't even the time to make himself food. Mind you though, next time you'll have to make yourself dinner!'.

'I'll keep it in mind,' John answered, he felt like he could hug the woman, 'Thank you for the food.'

She smiled at him and went down the stairs again.

John re-entered the room with the tray of food. He carefully limped back to his place against the heater. There, he put the tray on the floor and started loading food unto one of the plates.

The omega, who was still in his dark corner, smelled the food as well. He slowly came out of hiding. John pointed at the empty plate and the food and smiled. The omega didn't seem to trust it entirely, but even John could hear his stomach growl.

'Come,' he said in his friendliest voice, 'Eat. I won't harm you, I swear.'

He kept repeating those words and coaxed the omega to come closer and closer. Eventually, the skinny man sat on the opposite side of the tray. With his long fingers, he started getting food on his plate, never once looking John in the eye.

Mrs. Hudson had put a couple of candles on the tray and John silently thanked her for that. The candles brought some much needed light and warmth to the room. He was finally able to see his patient in at least some kind of light.

He was shocked at how young the omega looked from up close. He was probably in his early twenties, John guessed. There were some strange rashes on the man's arms and John thought he could see injection scars. He cursed silently. Injection scars like that usually meant drugs. Drugs meant addiction. And addiction meant going through withdrawal as soon as the supply of drugs ran out. If that was indeed the case, John and the omega would be in for an eventful couple of weeks.

The young man didn't seem to be feverish or sick to the stomach though, that gave John some hope. Maybe the drugs had been out of his system for quite a while now.

The two men ate silently. John tried to discover every wound and bruise on the omega. Who knew how long the man would be sitting this close to him? Now was his chance to actually do some examining.

The omega kept his eyes on his plate and the floor. His whole posture seemed to scream submissiveness. John could still smell the fear coming from his pale skin.

He really wished to see the blue eyes again.

'Do you have a name?' he asked softly.

The young man looked up at him, then quickly averted his eyes back to the floor.

No answer came from his lips.

'My name is John Watson. I'm a doctor,' John said. He tried to look the other man in the eyes.

The omega tried to look everywhere but at the doctor.

Still no reply.

John smiled. He hadn't really expected the omega to speak.

'It's okay, you don't have to talk if you don't want to.'

He put his empty plate back on the tray and sighed.

'I hope you understand me,' he said to the omega, 'Because I want to help you. I was brought here to tend to your wounds. To help you heal.'

The blue eyes under the dark brows had a concentrated gaze in them. It seemed like the man was at least trying to listen. That gave John some hope.

'I will go to my own room now, so you and I can sleep. Tomorrow I will come back.'

With these words, the doctor carefully got up. He left the tray on the floor, so the omega could eat more if he was still hungry.

Two worried eyes followed him all the way to the door.

When the doctor got to his own room closed the door, he let out a whole string of curses.

He threw of his jacket and changed into his pyjamas. With a tired sigh he dropped unto the bed, that was surprisingly soft and bouncy.

It was suddenly very clear to him, why the mysterious mister Holmes had offered him this job. Alphas and omegas had a certain reaction to each other. He could already feel it happening. He was trying with all his might to make the omega trust him, to make it feel safe and wanted. And he knew the omega, wounded and possibly traumatized as it was, was letting him do it.

John knew, that there was only a handful of alpha doctors in Britain. Most of which operated in the army. Alphas needed action, pressure, dangerous situations. Civilian clinics couldn't offer that. Civilian life as a whole usually couldn't offer that.

Now that he thought about it, he might have been the only alpha doctor available. He was starting to feel used. Holmes had manipulated him. Had literally made him an offer he knew he couldn't refuse, even if he wanted to. The call of an omega was way too strong to refuse.

Well, he had gotten himself into quite a situation. He had no idea how to start treating the omega. Holmes had not told him how terrible the state of the omega was, or what had actually happened to him. Ofcourse he hadn't. And John hadn't asked.

It took John a while to fall asleep. He constantly found his mind wandering back to the omega. He thought of the skinny, almost naked man being completely alone and vulnerable. His inner wolf howled at the idea and wanted him to get up en cuddle up with the omega. Rationally he knew that cuddling up wasn't one of the options in this situation.

With a growl he got his wolf to shut up. He groaned with frustration and tried to find a comfortable position to sleep in. His leg was seriously acting up and he swore to himself, that he would take his cane with him tomorrow.

In the end, the doctor fell asleep a couple of hours before the break of dawn.

The next days the doctor and the omega settled into a routine. John would get up, take a shower and bring a tray with breakfast to the rooms of the omega. They would eat breakfast together. After that, John would just sit there for hours.

Eventually Mrs. Hudson would come with tea or lunch. Even though she constantly claimed not to be a housekeeper, she did behave like one. Every time she swore to John that this would be the last time, but it never was. John liked her.

On the morning of the fourth day, John reached a breakthrough.

The omega let the doctor touch him.

They had just finished lunch. Normally the omega would retreat to one of his corners and watch John from a distance. This time, he stayed right where he was. It was as if, suddenly, he had made the decision that the doctor could be trusted.

John had noticed the day before, that the omega was no longer scared of him. He had grown used to John and his coming and going. The doctor was very pleased by this.

The omega sat very still. He studied John with his pale eyes. Though he still didn't dare to look John in the eye directly, he sometimes caught the omega staring at his face.

The older man wanted to test the limits. He moved closer to the omega. The omega didn't move an inch. He stayed put and didn't even tense up.

This encouraged John to go a step further. Slowly he lifted up his arm. He made a point of really showing the omega what he was about to do, so it had a chance to get away if it wanted to.

Then, all of a sudden, he was touching the cold skin of a gaunt arm.

Even though the omega had been prepared, he gave John a shocked look. Not scared. Just shocked.

'Would you allow me, to examine your wounds?' the doctor asked.

He stared at the omega, waiting for some kind of response.

Then, very slowly, the omega nodded.

John gave him a warm smile.

'I promise I will be careful, though it might hurt here and there.'

The omega gave another nod. He seemed to understand what needed to be done.

John let go of the omega and carefully opened one of the curtains. He explained to the omega that, in order to examine him, he needed he light. The omega didn't seem to be too happy about this, but allowed the alpha to open the curtains of two windows.

The doctor called the omega to him. The young man slowly moved into the light. It clearly had been a long time ago since he saw daylight. He held one of his hands in front of his eyes to protect them.

John walked up to the omega, again making himself as small as possible.

He touched the man on the shoulders, to let him know he would be starting the examination.

His alpha noticed that the omega almost moved into to the touch and it made a happy sound.

It took John a while to examine to man properly.

He was happy to discover there was no serious damage. Most of the wounds had already started to heal. Some of the more angry bruises were slowly turning green and yellow.

With an angry frown, the doctor noticed that the young man had bruises around his neck, as if someone had tried to strangle him.

He also got a better look at the injection scars. They seemed to be old, older than any of the other bruises. Later on, he wasn't surprised when he found the same kind of scarring between some toes and fingers. The tell-tale signs of drug use. The omega seemed to be the most ashamed of those wounds. He tried to hide his face every time John found one.

At the end of the examination, the most serious thing John had found, were bruised ribs. The ribs were still quite sore. The omega gasped in pain, every time John touched one of them.

'Well,' John said, 'Considering the circumstances, you seem to be pretty healthy. Just a couple of bruised ribs. Nothing that won't heal on its own.'

He smiled at the young man.

'Now unto another subject. You need a bath.'

A slightly panicked look appeared on the face of the man. John frowned.

'Can't you smell yourself? I think you would be much happier, when you're clean.'

The omega didn't respond. It had a bit of an embarrassed look.

When he thought John wasn't watching, he smelled himself. His long nose wrinkled.

'Want me to fill you a bath?' John asked with smile. The omega nodded in a gesture of defeat.

Together they walked to the bathroom. There John filled the bathtub with water and a good supply of soap. He made sure clean towels were available and pointed the omega to a toothbrush and toothpaste.

'It's all yours,' he said and turned to the door. He wanted to give the younger man some privacy at least.

The omega shed the little clothes he wore and stepped into the bath.

A sound of excitement came from his throat, as he let himself sink into the warm water and bubbles.

John smiled.

'Just let that soak in. I will be in the next room.'

He made sure the omega wouldn't get out of his bath, then he closed the door behind him.

The first thing he did, was go through the room and search for clothes.

After a couple of minutes, he found a wardrobe, filled with what seemed to be very expensive clothing. All of it seemed to be roughly in the omega's size.

John got the omega clean underwear and a soft pair of pyjamas.

He knocked on the bathroom door and heard a lot of panicked splashing.

When he entered the bathroom he averted his eyes to the floor and pointed at the clothes.

'Just came to bring you these.'

The doctor got a glimpse of a very flustered omega when he closed the bathroom door again.

An hour later, a clean omega stepped out of the bathroom.

Without the layers of dirt and sweat, the young man made an almost human impression.

John couldn't help but smile.

For a very short moment, the omega stood at his full size, before going back to his submissive posture again. John noticed that the omega was at least a head taller than himself. Somehow, this made his inner wolf want the omega even more. He really hoped the omega hadn't noticed that.

'The change a bath can make!' said the doctor with a friendly voice.

The omega made a facial expression that could almost be read as a smile.

It was then, that Mrs. Hudson knocked on the door to bring their dinner.

John expected the omega to run for one of his corners. It didn't. It did seem a bit scared, but it didn't move from its spot. The doctor thought it was as if the omega was trying to test its own limits.

He took the tray with food from Mrs. Hudson and thanked her. The landlady gave the omega a curious, but friendly look and went downstairs again.

This time John didn't place the tray on the floor. Instead, he walked to a table under one of the windows.

He could hear the omega follow him. Bare, slightly damp feet, on the wooden floorboards.

The doctor sat himself down in one of the chairs and gestured the omega to come sit across from him. He gave a reassuring smile. The omega lingered for a bit.

His eyes looked at the John, the chair and then back again to John.

Eventually he made up his mind and carefully placed himself on the chair. He didn't seem entirely relaxed, but also didn't look like he was about to run away. John was happy enough with just that.

He gave the omega a plated filled with food and gave the man a warm smile.

Today had been a day of progress and he was proud of his patient.


	3. The Wolf That Talked

The first week was over before John realized it. Yet, it felt as if he'd been in the mansion for at least ten years. His routine with the omega continued. Every day he got up early, made breakfast and tea, carried it up to the rooms of the omega, ate breakfast with the omega and then just sat on the floor or in a chair for hours on end.

Every couple of days the omega allowed him to examine the remaining wounds. John had even persuaded the omega to do a blood test. He wasn't quite sure what had happened to the omega, but he wanted to be one hundred percent sure he hadn't missed any diseases.

The omega was now almost comfortable around him. There seemed to be a complete change in his behaviour. Now when John came, the omega seemed to be happy. John couldn't be entirely sure about this ofcourse, as the omega still refused to talk. Still, it felt as if the omega was now totally accepting his presence and even enjoyed it.

It was a particularly rainy afternoon, when the omega decided that the moment had come to speak.

'Afghanistan or Iraq,' said a hoarse voice. It was nothing more than a whisper.

John, who was just about to doze off, looked at the omega with a surprised frown.

'Sorry, what,' he said, a little confused.

The omega raised his dark brows.

'Afghanistan or Iraq,' it said again, this time a bit louder.

'How could you possibly..,' started John. He shook his head. 'Afghanistan.'.

The omega studied him openly and nodded slowly.

It was silent for a long while. John was still confused. He had about a hundred questions that he wanted to ask the omega, but all of a sudden he didn't know where to begin. Or if maybe, he had dreamt it all. The omega seemed to be his silent self again at least.

The doctor stretched his leg with a painful grumble.

There was knock on the door. 'Your tea!,' said the voice of Mrs. Hudson.

Before John could get up, the omega did.

It slowly, but decidedly started walking to the door. John raised his brows and just watched.

When the omega got to the door it paused, but only for a couple of seconds. Then it grabbed the handle and opened the door inch by inch, until it was completely opened.

Mrs. Hudson was a bit surprised to meet the omega at the door, but did a good job of hiding it. She smiled one of her brightest smiles and handed the tray with tea and cookies to the omega.

'Here's your tea. The cookies are freshly baked, so be careful, they're still hot!,' her eyes curiously studied the omega while she spoke.

The omega nodded and turned away from the door. He closed it with his foot.

With the tray in his hands, he walked to the table where John sat. The doctor was bewildered.

These actions had come to him as an utter surprise. He just stared at the omega.

Eventually he got a hold on himself and smiled.

'Thank you,' he said, when the omega poured him a cup of tea.

The omega, although silent again, seemed to radiate a new kind of energy. It was still submissive, still a bit careful, but there was a huge change.

'How did you know?,' said John, when he had finished his tea.

He looked at the omega, who was nibbling on one of the cookies with a look of content.

It's eyes darted to John when the question was posed, but the answer seemed to take a while.

'How could you possibly know that?,' asked John again.

'Easy,' answered the omega at last. His voice was very soft. The raspy tone of it, made John think it might have been quite a while since the omega last used his voice. Yet, when the answer was given, it was done with an air of superiority. Almost a verbal eye roll.

He was quite certain the omega was starting to find his personality back.

'Could you try to explain?' asked the doctor.

The silence was longer this time. John could hear the rain and wind smash against the windows. The world outside was already darkening. In a little while they'd need candles or a lamp to see each other properly. John had come to the conclusion that autumn on the moors was even darker and wetter than autumn in London.

'I deduced it,' said the omega after what seemed an hour.

John raised one eyebrow.

'You deduced it?,' he said slowly, 'How?'.

The omega sighed. It was soft, but audible. It was the sigh of someone who'd had to explain something over and over again for years on end. The omega looked at John. It still didn't dare to make eye contact, but at least it looked him in the face now. A toilful look appeared on its face. And then one of very clear frustration.

The omega stood up and walked to one of its dark corners again.

John followed the movements with a little bit of worry. The omega was agitated. It had put its head between its hands and was biting its own lip slightly bloody.

The doctor stood up as well and walked over to the omega. He kneeled down when he came close.

Carefully he touched the omega on the knee.

Two pale blue eyes looked up at him. There was panic in them.

'It's okay,' said the doctor in his most soothing voice.

The omega shook its head furiously.

'Yes, it is,' said the doctor, more sternly now.

'It is completely okay. You will be okay. Just remember to breath.'

He placed both of his hands on the omega's knees. He didn't want to scare it more by placing them somewhere out of sight. With his touch he tried to ground the omega.

'You don't have to tell me right now, that's okay. You made quite some surprising progress today. It's only to be expected this situation you're in, won't solve our heal itself in one day.'

The doctor smiled. He could feel the omega's breath and heart beat calming down.

His alpha grumbled with satisfaction. His touch was doing this.

'We're going to have to take this slow. Don't expect too much, too soon.'

Eventually the omega calmed down. The panic disappeared from the eyes and face and was replaced by fatigue and a slight look of dejection.

'As your doctor, I advise you to get some rest now,' said Watson.

Watson watched as the omega got into its bed. Within ten minutes it was sound asleep.

He lingered for a while. To himself he said it was to make sure his patient was alright. That was a lie, ofcourse. His alpha wanted to watch over the omega. Wanted to cuddle up to it and make it feel safe and warm and wanted. When the urge to build a nest became too strong, Watson took his leave.

That night Watson had trouble falling asleep. Now that the omega had showed it could talk, there were so many things the doctor wanted to know. To start with a name, ofcourse. And then, what had happened to the omega. Why it had refused to talk. Who had left those nasty bruises. And ofcourse what in hell's name deducing was supposed to mean.

He knew his questions would have to wait. If he asked them all at once, the omega would get overwhelmed again. It was obvious that it hadn't been able to talk for a while. There seemed to be great difficulty in forming coherent or long sentences.

He sighed and turned on his stomach. His inner wolf was basically howling at him to let it out. The control it took, to keep the wolf down, was wearing him out. In the army he'd had suppressants to keep his alpha in check. Going full alpha when you were a doctor was frowned upon. And for good reasons. Besides, having full grown werewolves on a battlefield usually didn't do much good.

But now, there were no suppressants. There was only self control.

And it was wearing very thin.

The full moon would be coming soon. He didn't know if he would be able to keep himself from turning. Especially now that his alpha knew that there was a weak and suffering omega in the building. An omega that was very likely too weak to even be able to turn.

The next few days, the omega kept to himself. It seemed to be ashamed of its breakdown.

John sat with him. Talked to him. Read some books and articles.

Eventually the omega came closer again. This pleased John and his alpha.

It was a full week after the omega had first spoken, when it used his voice again.

'I want to explain,' he said hoarsely, 'but I can't.'

The omega moved its hands in a sort of melodramatic way.

'The words won't come.'

There was frustration in the voice.

John smiled slightly.

'It's okay,' he said, 'They will come eventually. I am sure of that.'

The omega shook its head angrily.

'I want them now!,' its nose wrinkled up in anger.

Panic seeped into the last screamed word of the sentence.

John sighed and nodded.

'I understand that, I really do,' he said calmly, 'It must be very frustrating to not be able to speak your mind. Be patient with yourself. Give it time. Maybe reading a book will help.'

The omega looked at him as if that was the most lame-brained thing he had ever heard.

The doctor frowned.

'Sitting here and being angry with yourself certainly won't do anything,' said the doctor with a slight huff, 'I know you are angry and frustrated and possibly quite scared. But that won't go away by just staying angry.'

The omega sighed. John could swear he saw the pale eyes roll up in a dramatic fashion.

The young man was definitely finding his personality back.

After a while, John persuaded the omega into reading some books. The younger man still refused to leave his rooms, so the doctor went to the library of the house and got a stack.

He didn't know exactly what to get, so he got a bit of everything.

Even though the omega hadn't approved of even the idea of reading, once he got his nimble hands on the books, he seemed quite content. He took the stack to one of his corners, turned on the light and started reading.

John thought he could hear the omega mumble some words, like 'mind palace' and 'psychosomatic'.

He frowned at the last word and felt his leg cramp up slightly.

John left the omega to his reading and decided to have an early night.

When he came back the next morning, the omega was wide awake and still reading. What was the most dumbfounding to the doctor, was that there was only one book left on the stack. The others had been discarded to and fro.

'Good morning,' he said with a smile. He placed the breakfast tray on the table.

The omega didn't hear him. He frowned and waited a bit.

' _Good morning_ ', he repeated a bit louder.

This startled the omega. He looked up and blinked confused.

'Morning?' it asked.

'Yes, morning,' answered the doctor.

'Impossible,' mumbled the omega, going back to his book.

'Did you even sleep?' asked John, a bit worried.

No reaction. The omega kept reading. If his eyes had moved over the paper faster, they would have burned right through the paper.

The doctor sighed and sat down.

'Will you come and have breakfast with me?', he expected no answer to this question.

To his surprise however, the omega got up and walked to the table, while still reading his book.

John took a sip from his tea and read his newspaper for a bit.

'I actually have a question for you,' he said after a while.

The omega didn't respond, but he had gotten used to that by now.

'What is your name?' he asked.

Though reading, the young man was obviously listening to him. He lifted his eyes from the paper and, for the first time looked John in the eye. The moment was short, but John could feel a shiver coming up his spine. The hairs on his arms were raised. His wolf howled.

'Sherlock Holmes,' answered the omega. His voice was still hoarse, but it had become slightly smoother. There was a deep and dark tone to it.

John frowned. 'Holmes?,' he asked slowly.

The omega nodded. His eyes on the pages of the book again.

'The man who hired me was named that as well, according to Mrs. Hudson at least,' he said.

'Brother,' was al he got as an answer.

Though it was one word, it made a lot clear to Watson. It explained why the other Holmes would hire an alpha doctor. He wasn't the alpha of the omega, but his brother. Ofcourse, some brothers would nurse each other back to health after traumatizing events. But John was starting to suspect that the two Holmes brothers didn't have that kind of relationship.

'Anyway,' he said after a while, 'it is nice to meet you, Sherlock.'

He extended a hand.

The omega took his eyes of the pages again. Something of a mocking smile formed in the blue eyes.

He did take the hand however.

'Nice to meet you, John.'

They shook each other's hand. John could feel the pale and strong fingers slightly squeezing his own short ones. They were cold. He suppressed a shiver.

The deep baritone voice of the omega awakened something in him that he was not familiar with. It started somewhere in the pit of his stomach and travelled through his whole body. The sensation wasn't unpleasant. His wolf howled at him. It wanted to be set free.

John grimaced as he forced the animal back to the edges of his mind. His wolf hadn't been this active in months, possibly years.

He had the feeling, this full moon might be quite an interesting one.

As he looked over to the omega, another shiver went through his spine.

Sherlock was reading again. He didn't realize the turmoil he'd caused.

Probably for the best.

John felt another one of those mocking smiles would be his undoing.


End file.
